Swan Queen Week: Saturday: Rewards
by Joshua The Evil Guy
Summary: Post-Season3 Emma and Regina have been plagued by a mysterious magical bond that keeps forcing them to be together. After exhausting all resources available in Storybrooke, they call upon Glinda, the Good Witch of the South to find out the nature of this bond. It is not what they expected.


Title: Swan Queen Week: Saturday: Accidental Marriage

Author: Joshua

Disclaimer: ABC and Disney own Once Upon A Time and all associated characters. This story is in response to the challenge put forth by and for "Swan Queen Week" (), specifically the third bi-annual event, "Tropes & Cliches". Story contains descriptions and allusions to an 'Adult' relationship between two women. If this offends you, you always have the right to exercise your free will, and not read it.

Rated: M (for themes, content, and language)

Summary: Post-Season3 Emma and Regina have been plagued by a mysterious magical bond that keeps forcing them to be together. After exhausting all resources available in Storybrooke, they call upon Glinda, the Good Witch of the South to find out the nature of this bond. It is not what they expected.

Rewards (OUAT Version):

"We're WHAT?!" both women screamed.

"Married," the Good Witch of the South repeated.

"To who?" Emma demanded, drawing looks of disbelief from those gathered.

"To each other," Glinda said.

"How?!" Regina screamed.

"It is your reward," the woman dressed in all glittering white diamonds answered.

"For what?!" Emma yelled.

"I didn't ask for the reason, I asked _how_ this happened in the first place!" Regina snarled. "Neither of us gave our consent, or for that matter even expressed an _interest_ in such a development in our relationship! So first, my dear, you are going to explain how this could have happened, and then you will explain-in detail-exactly what must be done to… annul this… unexpected bond on the part of myself and Miss Swan!"

Glinda blinked in surprise, taken aback by both women's vehemence at the revelation of the reward Light Magic itself had gifted upon them. She only knew about it herself because of what had been revealed to her in the Book after she'd been freed from her banishment upon the defeat of Zelena in Storybrooke. Apparently, skipping over the details of the final battle, Regina had found it within herself to use _Light Magic_ instead of the Dark Magic she'd been using for years. Coupled with Emma using her own Light Magic at a key moment, a magically-intense and unique bond was created that had both women sharing dreams and experiencing other… facets that had never been present before between them.

Once this bond had been discovered, by the resurrected Dark One—Rumplestiltskin—no less, both the Evil Queen and Savior had sought answers from any that might be able to help. Ultimately leading them to her, here, at this moment. She revealed herself the moment she was able and confirmed that her banishment had truly ended. Those silver slippers of the Wizard's truly were a remarkable invention.

In spite of the circumstances leading them to the current situation, it was clear that there was still some confusion that needed clearing. And so Glinda endeavored herself to the challenge.

"Emma, Regina," she began. "What has happened to you is a good thing. It is a reward for what you have both accomplished, together. It is nothing to fear or be concerned about. The source of this is of Light Magic. The price, as such, has already been paid."

"That's not what I'm freaking out about!" Emma yelled.

"While that was something that I was worried about, with some of these… surprises, I'm more concerned over the fact that Miss Swan and I are now essentially one person!" Regina growled.

"Exactly!" Emma added her two cents.

"What is there to be concerned about?" Glinda asked, spreading her hands in a gentle shrug. "Your empathy with one another will merely allow you to be a better team and to avoid the pitfalls of many marriages, and-"

"It's ANNOYING!" Emma and Regina both screamed out loud.

"She's hyper-critical of everything!" the blond pointed, accusing.

"She's a slob and lazy!" the brunette pointed back.

"She gets so emotional over _every little thing_, I feel like I'm going to cry or blow my top at the drop of a dime!" the Savior exclaimed.

"She is distant and hides her emotions and fear so much that I feel like I am being suffocated at times!" the reformed Evil Queen blamed.

"She's needy!" the blue-eyed golden-haired warrior accused.

"She's afraid!" the brown-eyed black-haired sorceress rebuked.

"_She's_ afraid!" Sheriff Swan shot back.

"She's an idiot!" Mayor Mills castigated.

"You are impossible!" she criticized, abandoning all pretense of the third-party present.

"You can't handle a simple criticism!" she rebuked.

"I hate you!"

"I hate you!"

Sudden silence for the span of but a few heartbeats, and then the two women were assaulting each other, sexually assaulting that is. Right as they were getting to the point of tearing each others clothes off, Glinda gave a small cough, reminding them—just in time—that they were not alone.

"I begin to see the problem, and why Archie refused to offer marriage counseling," Glinda remarked.

"That keeps happening," Emma pointed out the obvious as the pair rearranged their clothing.

"And it is not just the marriage bond, what you call empathy," Regina remarked. "There's more. At times, I can… my magic is… different. And not just light magic instead of dark magic. I feel… more powerful, more energized, more… just _more_! More than I've ever felt before in my entire life. Considering Miss Swan's… potential, and how much power she's demonstrated having in the past, I can only surmise that somehow our magic is being shared between the two of us."

"Yes, it is," Glinda answered.

"That is dangerous!" Regina snapped.

"It is?" Emma asked, suddenly concerned.

"Oh, _now_ you're worried?" Regina sarcastically snapped the moment she felt Emma's emotions.

"Hey, this is the first time you hinted that something worse than mild discomfort could be going on here!" she snapped back.

"You…!" she started to retaliate, but the Good Witch of the South intervened.

"Ladies, please," the diamond-clad blond interrupted. "Regina. Sharing _dark magic_ is dangerous, because it is volatile and seeks to destroy or dominate all it encounters. _Light magic_, however, seeks to heal and protect all that it encounters. Even without the exception of myself and the Fairies—who are not compatible with human magicks in the first place—you two are the strongest light magic wielders in this entire realm. Beyond that, you fought an epic battle of good versus evil together, overcoming tremendous odds, both personal and foreign, and were victorious. As to why you've been… well, been married, magically speaking, it is quite apparent that a bond already exists between you two. This is merely an… evolution, if you will, of that."

"I have no idea what you're talking about," Regina immediately denied, crossing her arms and turning away from both blonds.

"Other than Henry, we have nothing in common, and nothing that we like about each other," Emma declared.

"You both have magic," Glinda observed. "Light magic, at that. And while I could easily analyze all the many different facets of how you are more alike than you know, allow me to summarize by simply saying this; you are married now. To each other. And this is not a political or legal marriage, which you could have annulled or be divorced from. This is a magical marriage. There is no saying it didn't happen and there is no breaking the bonds that exist between you now. If it helps you at all, you may think of ordinary marriage as a pathetic attempt to mimic that which you now have."

"There's just one problem with that," Emma said.

"What might that be?" Glinda asked.

"We don't want it with _each other_!" Regina said for both of them, Emma nodding.

SQW

The newlyweds walked out of the forest, side by side, each lost in her own thoughts. Regina's of recent losses and unwanted gains, Emma of her recent 'adventure through time', counting her blessings in how things somehow still managed to work out in the end.

"So what now?" Emma asked her—as daunting as it was to think of—wife.

"What do you mean, 'what now'? We're married! To each other! This is a disaster! And it's all your fault!" Regina accused.

"Apparently it's both our faults," she responded. "Tell you what, I'll own up to my half if you own up to your half. This may not have been planned, Regina, but it happened, and we have to deal with it. What I'm asking is that we actually talk about how we deal with it, because we've already tried ignoring it, and it didn't go away. And I'm getting kind of tired of loaning you my clothes since you refuse to wear any of Mary Margaret's stuff."

"I don't see you complaining when you borrow _my_ clothes!" Regina growled out.

"That is because you have much nicer things. And a lot more of them than I do. Think maybe it would stop happening if we at least lived in the same place?"

"You expect me to move into the apartment across the hall from Snow White?" she asked, incredulous.

"No," Emma sighed. "I was actually asking if we could move into your place. You know, the mansion that I keep magically appearing in every other night when you aren't appearing in my single bed? I'm not saying we go to sleep in the same bed, just the same building. Besides, we'll still probably wake up in the same bed like always."

"You think this if funny?"

"I thought it was funny the first two times," she answered honestly. "After the fifteenth, it's gotten more tedious and annoying than amusing. Well?"

"What about the other stuff?"

"One step at a time, your majesty."

"Stop calling me that. You know how I hate it," Regina said.

"Why do you think I keep calling you that?" Emma grinned.

"Are you trying to start a fight, Miss Swan?" she challenged.

"No need to be so formal, Regina. Besides, shouldn't that be Mrs. Swan? But then, wouldn't that make you Mrs. Mills? Should we keep our names, or sort of combine it into one family, Mills-Swan? Nah, too close to being 'millswan'. Swan-Mills. I like that. Top billing and all that. You coming?"

Racing to catch up, Regina allowed her temper to rise and fume with each hurried step. From Emma's perspective, she couldn't help noticing how very similar she looked to that time she'd cut a branch off the Mayor's famous apple tree when she'd first gotten to town. Only real difference was that she was wearing a coat and pant-suit in black and white, rather than a tight gray dress and heels.

"Just answer the damn question, _Miss Swan_," she growled. "Are you trying to pick a fight with me? Yes or no?"

"And if I was?" she replied, a wicked grin on her face. The closest that Regina had ever seen the lithe blond look mischievous. Even when she had been planning and performing actual mischief, cutting down her tree being chief among the events that came to mind, she'd only ever looked smug and kind of proud. Now she looked downright… well, like Rumpelstiltskin at his worst!

"Oh my god!" she exclaimed, shoving the blond so she'd stop walking long enough to have a complete conversation. "You're starting to like it, aren't you! You… you want to trigger an, an… an _episode_?! What is the matter with you?"

"I'm horny, all right?" Emma admitted, throwing her arms out to the side. "You think us waking up in each others bed, dressing to match, and never being apart from each other for more than a few minutes is all there is to this? We can feel what the other is feeling, and the fact that making out with you—even fighting with you right before—turns me on, _surprises _you? I find that surprising. And not at all believable."

"Oh, I thought it was…" she trailed off at the look Emma gave her. "Never mind. I've been trying to ignore… all of that, anyway. Besides, did it ever occur to you to maybe, take care of it yourself?" she awkwardly asked.

"Oh geez, no, it didn't," Emma said sarcastically. If sarcasm could be measured on a scale, she would have hit a solid 9.5, at a minimum.

"Oh please, no one is _that_ aroused," she scoffed.

"I am when I keep getting _interrupted_!" she argued back.

"You're still trying to pick a fight," Regina resumed the trek back to the car. "I am ignoring you, Miss Swan."

"And that doesn't help!" Emma called after her.

"What?"

"Oh now who is deluding herself?" the blond mocked, easily catching up with her wife. "You've got the whole sexy school marm/principal thing going on, and when you wear your glasses you are the epitome of a sexy librarian. You calling me 'Miss Swan' in that husky, sexy, seductive voice of yours doesn't exactly quench the fires, if you know what I mean!"

"Really?" the woman actually sounded surprised, but Emma wasn't _that_ naive.

"Yes," she answered simply, having failed in getting the result that she was after. Besides, they'd finally reached the car. "I'm driving."

"Like hell you are," Regina snapped at her wife.

"I'm a better driver."

"You drive a Volkswagon Beetle. Not my classic Mercedes."

"I'm still a better driver than you."

"I've been driving longer than you have, Miss… Emma."

"Yeah, funny, you'd think you'd be a bit better after all this time, huh?"

"You're still trying to pick a fight."

"I'm still horny."

"And driving my car would help, how precisely?"

"If you have to ask that question, you've been doing it wrong for _years_, Mrs. Swan-Mills."

"I am not changing my name. And you are not driving my car."

"Fine, don't change your name. But I am driving."

"No, you are not."

"Yeah, I am."

"No you're not."

"Yes I am."

"No. You're not!"

"Yes! I totally am!"

"You're not!"

"I am!"

"You're not!"

"Am too!"

"Are not!"

"Am!"

"Not!"

"Am!"

"Not!"

"Am!"

"Not!"

"Not!"

"Am!"

"Am not!"

"Are too!"

"Not and won't!"

"Are and will!"

"No!"

"Yes!" Regina fumed suddenly, feeling the urge to 'assault' her and nearly overwhelmed by it, but managed to push it back with her anger, which blinded her to her very sudden and impulsive decision. "Yes, you are! Emma, you are driving my car and that is final!"

Emma looked down at the keys she'd just been handed and watched as Regina angrily stalked around the Mercedes and slammed the front passenger door open and then shut once she was in the car. "Wow," she mumbled to herself, "I can't believe that worked!"

SQW

"So?" Snow asked the moment she saw her… daughters. One biological, the other a… daughter-in-law. Who was also her stepmother. This was so messed up. "How did it go?"

"A complete waste of time," Regina growled, careful to keep her voice quiet as little Prince Neal was currently napping against his mother's chest. How long they would call him 'Prince' had yet to be determined, but the title and name had caught on and everyone called the little baby 'Prince Neal' rather than just 'Neal' or even 'the baby'.

"Apparently," Emma explained to her mother, also speaking quietly, "what has been going on with us has a simple explanation, we just can't do anything about it."

"What do you mean?" Snow asked, growing concerned, but making a few extra big rocks in her chair to keep her newborn son asleep for a little while longer. It had only been a few weeks, but already Snow White and Prince Charming were thanking their lucky stars for having so many willing and able babysitters on hand.

"Rumpelstiltskin was right," Emma began. "There is a magical bond between Regina and myself. Made of Light magic. Glinda was able to identify it for us, but she was adamant that nothing could be done about it."

"She's an idiot," Regina growled, but immediately silenced when the baby began to fuss.

"So, what is this bond that you two have?" Snow asked when it became clear they weren't going to tell her without prompting.

"This would be a lot easier if we only have to go through it once," Emma said. "We'll tell everyone at the dinner tonight. That is," she shot her wife a look, "if we're still going."

"Well, you're both invited," Snow insisted. "And Regina, even if there wasn't this bond between you and Emma, you would still be invited, so no saying no on principal this time."

Emma arched one eyebrow, the question clear on her face.

Regina shook her head, silently begging Snow, but the woman-who-could-not-keep-a-secret just smiled and said, "During the past year, we had a number of balls and celebrations. At every single one, Regina managed to find an excuse to either slip out early, or decline the invitation at the start, usually by saying that we only invited her out of pity for one reason or another. Which was never true, by the way."

"Not on your part, perhaps," Regina huffed.

"It's just family and friends, right? Although, no offense, Mrs. Gold is more my friend than Mr. Gold, so…" Emma said, trying to comfort Regina based on the nervousness she now felt from her wife.

"Well, can you at least give me a hint?" Snow asked. "From what you are hinting at, this is pretty big news. I could use the extra time to start processing it."

"And wake the little prince from you screaming your head off?" Emma replied in a 'baby' voice. Snow grimaced, but finally let it drop. For now.

"How is Henry doing?" she changed the subject instead.

"As confused and concerned as the rest of us," Regina answered with a sigh. "But understanding. We've discussed things already," (in the car ride back from Glinda's place) "and Emma and Henry will be moving in with me. Nothing against your family or home, Snow, but you barely have enough room as it is with a new baby. Dealing with me and Emma… vanishing or appearing during the night and in the mornings is more stress than you should have to deal with. And we hope that by at least being in the same building we can stop it from happening."

"Are you going to try and leave Storybrooke?" she asked Emma, adjusting her son a bit so he lay more comfortably across her neck and shoulder. "I know that you thought it was the magic in Storybrooke that was fueling this… bond between you two, and that leaving might delay it for a while, or stop it all together."

Emma shook her head. "I'm not leaving and I'm not taking Henry anywhere without Regina coming along with. She's as much his mother as I am now. Always has been. Besides, Storybrooke is my home. I'm not leaving. I learned that lesson. The hard way, so to speak."

"Hmph," Regina grumbled under her breath, "Saving me for yourself, were you?"

"Maybe I was," Emma shot back, grinning.

"Girls, not in front of the baby," Snow admonished them.

"Sorry Mom," Emma smiled, loving being able to say that so freely after all this time.

"You're not going to stop calling her that, are you?" Regina teased.

Emma just smiled and teased back, "How do you feel knowing that even after everything that has happened, now having memories of me raising him instead of you… Henry still calls _you_ 'Mom'?" Regina's 'Mona Lisa Smile' said it all, though she remained silent.

At that moment, Emma's baby brother awoke and starting making fussy sounds.

"Oh, sounds like someone is hungry. Again," Snow sighed.

"Wow, he hasn't drained you dry yet?" Emma giggled.

"Hah, hah," Snow smiled. "All right, you two best go ahead and get ready for tonight, while I feed the little prince here."

"You do know that magic cuts preparation time down to like seconds, right?" Emma remarked as she got to her feet.

"Yes, but it also takes out most of the fun," Snow teased, adjusting to breastfeed.

"I have sworn, and fully intend to keep the vow, to never _ever_ wear a corset again!" Emma mock-raged, though she was being entirely serious.

"Not to worry, dear," Regina patted her wife patronizingly on the shoulder. "Besides, you do get used to them. Much like walking in heels, or wearing skinny jeans."

"Oh do not go there, Your Majesty!" Emma warned. "And wearing that torture device is _nothing_ like wearing jeans. Jeans at least allow you to breathe."

"Girls, take it outside before you traumatize my son with something he's a full decade away from understanding why he should be traumatized by it," Snow told them.

"Fine, fine, fine, we're going, we're going," Emma raised her hands in surrender.

The two once-rival mothers left the nursing mother behind and sought out a more friendlier ear. Fortunately, he'd just returned from a more comprehensive, not to mention safer, driving lesson with David. Both were ginning and neither were seriously injured. Plus, Emma hadn't gotten any radio calls about reckless driving, so safe bet that the lesson had gone well.

"Hey Kid," Emma greeted her son with a warm hug.

"Henry," Regina received the same as she asked him, "How did the lesson go?" The words 'This time' hung in the air, but nobody dared voice them.

"It was awesome!" Henry enthusiastically responded.

"It… went well," David said a bit more honestly. "We didn't hit anything."

"Did you at least stay on the road?" Emma smirked.

"For the most part," David said as he quickly made his escape to the nursery.

His two mothers looked expectantly toward Henry.

"I kept hitting the curb when parking," he told them the truth. He managed to contain his blush fairly well, but they both knew him well enough by now to spot the telltale pink splotches.

"Yeah, well, it's part of growing up, Kid," Emma said.

"And as long as you're not hurt and learning from your mistakes, I don't see the harm in it," Regina said.

"Wow, that's a change," Henry said, grinning. "Hey, remember when Emma and Snow were missing in the Enchanted Forest and you wouldn't let me spend any time with granpa?"

"I remember it slightly different," the reformed Evil Queen grimaced.

"Well, things worked out in the end, didn't they?" Henry shrugged. "Everyone got their Happy Endings back, and we all get to live together as a family."

Before Regina could go off on a tangent about still not having her Happy Ending (and that had so many innuendos that Emma _needed_ a subject change before she succumbed to temptation), the blond mom interjected, "Speaking of which. We've got something we need to speak with you about, Henry."

"Oh yeah," he acknowledged enthusiastically. "You guys went to see Glinda today, didn't you? So? What's the verdict? Is it some curse cast by the Wicked Witch, or just a quirk of your new Light Magic?"

"Eh, more of the latter," Emma hedged.

"We'll tell everyone together later on at dinner," Regina put off the issue for the moment. "We actually wanted to talk to you about our living arrangements."

"Right, you two keep waking up in each others bed. This has got to be the weirdest magical prank ever," Henry commented. "So, we're going to live together. That's obvious. Question is, where?"

"We were thinking my place," Regina suggested.

"AKA, your old place," Emma added. "Mansion is freaking huge, so plenty of room for me to slip into. Especially compared to our old apartment."

"That would be awesome!" Henry immediately agreed. "But, uh, now that you mention it, when are we getting our stuff from our apartment in New York?"

Emma blinked and realized that she'd actually neglected to do anything about that, other than to check the place was still locked up. Of course that was immediately prior to her trip through time, so she was due to call and square things away with her landlord. Moving back was no longer an option. Then an idea occurred to her.

"Huh, I wonder…" she said out loud.

"Wonder what?" Regina snapped, suddenly suspicious. She could feel her wife's mind working in overdrive all of a sudden.

"Well, despite that it isn't readily available, it is clear that magic _does_ in fact work outside of Storybrooke. It just doesn't get replenished like it does here. So I was thinking of just 'poofing' everything to us and leaving a note with the landlord or something. And you keep saying that I have magic to spare."

"It would be a tremendous waste," Regina pointed out.

"More than spending how many days or weeks with final contracts, moving companies, load, hauling and unloading everything?" Emma argued.

After thinking it over for all of ten seconds, Regina conceded the point. "It would cost nearly twice the amount of power, but better that than risk leaving something behind. We could just teleport directly there and then gather everything together and take it back with us. It could be done in an afternoon, and we would need to do it together, no doubt."

"Awesome!" Henry smiled openly.

"Hm, while we're in the city, why don't we make a day of it?" Emma suggested suddenly.

"Why? What have you got brewing in that conniving mind of yours?" Regina asked.

"Ah, but _dear_," Emma stressed the phrase that the Evil Queen so often turned on others, "you are the conniving one in this family, if you recall. I'm the muscle and wear the pants."

Regina couldn't help it. She tried to, she really did, but she just could not stop herself from smiling and laughing just a little. She stopped as soon as she realized what she'd just done, but the 'damage' so to speak, had been done. Emma grinned at her triumphantly.

"As for any plans of mine," Emma said as though nothing at all had happened, "Well, you've shown me your world, on several levels. I'd like the opportunity to show you mine. And, we have more to do than just clean out the apartment. Henry needs to transfer schools. I need to give notice about my relocation at work. And we just cannot leave the city forever without enjoying one last authentic New York Pizza."

"Oh man, Mom, you've got to try it!" Henry suddenly gushed. "We never had anything like it here, and it is _so_ good!"

"All right, all right, _all right_," Regina sighed, giving in. "We'll go this weekend. Although, with this new curse, I dare say that anyone can cross the border without consequences now. Especially since my… sister's magic is no longer a threat. We'll teleport to your apartment and then go from there, all right?"

"Sounds like a plan," Emma agreed. Then she happened to glance at the clock. "And speaking of plans. Mom! Dad! You've got to start getting ready!"

"What about you?" David asked as he came into the main room, Snow and Prince Neal on his heels.

"Oh, we're using the extra time to move me and Henry over to Regina's place, now our place. Then, we'll probably magic ourselves ready in time for the dinner party. I still need a lot of practice with the small stuff. Plan for a big entrance, by the way."

"You will do no such thing, Em-ma Swan," Regina snapped, barely managing to change the word in time. She really was used to calling her 'Miss Swan', wasn't she? "For one thing, you do not need to get into the habit of using magic for every little thing, big or small. I learned that the difficult way, if you'll recall. I'd rather you learn from my mistakes in regards to magic than from your own. Especially if they can be avoided in the first place. We'll drive to the party and to be quite honest with everyone, it isn't a State Dinner we're going to. We're fine with what we're wearing and a bit of touchup is all that is required for myself. If you bothered to wear makeup at all, you'd only need a bit yourself. Hardly anything to waste magic on. What are you all staring at?" she asked when she realized they were indeed all staring at her like she'd grown an extra appendage or two.

"It's just… you _never_ let me go out if I looked even the least bit messed up or anything but my best," Henry pointed out.

"And Regina, you're the one that taught _me_ etiquette," Snow added. "And for you to disregard the need for it so casually… Well, it's just surprising is all."

After a moment of thought, the Mayor realized they were right. She suddenly reached out and hit her wife on the arm. Hard.

"Ow!" Emma whined. "What was that for?"

"I blame you for this!" she accused.

"Why, what did I… oh," she said after a moment to think about it. Their emotions and light magic marital bond was acting up again. Emma's 'laziness' seemed to be infecting Regina, while Regina's 'craftiness' was likewise influencing Emma. "Well it's not like I'm doing it on purpose you know!"

"You two _are_ going to tell us what is going on with you, aren't you?" David confirmed.

"Yes, at dinner tonight, Dad," Emma confirmed, grinning as she called him by the affectionate term. She'd been calling them by that every chance she could get ever since her revelation from her time travel trip. Pretty soon everyone was grinning, even Regina.

"OK, stop it," the older brunette called. "We've got to get going, and Snow and David have to get ready. Let's get your things, Henry. Emma can pack her own stuff."

She made a mocking face and sounds behind the Mayor's back, but didn't push things as they were now running incredibly tight for time. Keeping in mind what Regina warned about as far as magic use went, Emma collected her things from her parents' apartment the normal old fashioned way. It took her just over five minutes. Not so surprising, by the time she was done, Regina and Henry were still just working on finding and collecting all his stuff that had seemingly spread out everywhere in the small apartment, let alone packed any of it up.

"So, about that no magic rule?" she lead with, standing in the doorway, arms crossed.

"Don't even think about it," Regina warned.

"Yeah, they're all still in my suitcase, and Granma did laundry today," Henry said.

"Then leave everything you don't already have. It's not like we're never going to be here again. Just the essentials. We'll come back for the rest later."

"How very… sensible of you, Sheriff," the brunette said, teasing slightly.

"Pretty sure, after being uncursed and recursed, that David is the town Sheriff, not me," Emma observed. "Although, Madam Mayor, you're more than welcome to hold open elections. Might find yourself with some healthy competition for the role of mayor, curse or no curse."

Regina, wisely, refrained from responding, spotting a bait when she saw one.

"Anyway, let's get going, we've got a part to get to," the blonde said as she grabbed a couple things while Henry and Regina grabbed the rest.

"It's hardly a party," the brunette said as they made their way down the stairs to the car. "It's dinner at Granny's."

"With everyone associated with the 'good guys', including the Merry Men and the Dwarves?" she remarked. "Trust me, it's going to be a party."

"Robin is going to be there?" Regina stopped walking, allowing Henry and Emma to both pass her by. Realized they'd left her behind, they too stopped and looked back.

"You… do realize that our news kind of… you know what," Emma stopped what she was going to say. "Never mind. We'll deal with it as it comes. And you need to confront him sooner or later, Regina. If not for your sake, then for his. This Light Magic stuff we both use? It practically makes us want to actually do the right thing every now and then. And him feeling guilty with Marian over his choices when you were together… it's not fair to either of you, I know, but…"

"Come on Mom," Henry took her by the hand. "I'll stay with you. Not like there will be that many people there my own age anyway."

SQW

Later on, the yet-to-be-revealed Swan-Mills Family arrived at Granny's together. Unlike a scene from three and a half years prior, they were _all_ greeted with warm and welcoming smiles. It was a bit unnerving for one person in particular, but her son and her wife were beside her the whole time, which made all the difference in the world.

Hook tried to come around and chat Emma up. They hadn't exactly seen much of each other since the bond between her and Regina had formed. A part of Emma still wanted to find out if it were possible to love the rogue pirate who'd already given up so much for her, and was willing to still offer more. Then the rest of her reminded that small part that she was now a married woman. And she didn't go in for cheating, no matter what anyone said.

So every time Killian tried to pull her away to speak privately, she gave him a look, pulled away, and sometimes boldly said that he could speak in front of Regina and Henry, or he could hold his tongue. Apparently he decided to hold his tongue, and walked away to sulk and get drunk. Emma almost felt bad for him. Almost.

And then there was the inevitable confrontation with Robin and Marian.

As bad as the fight between herself and Emma when the bond formed and Regina was still pissed about Emma 'ruining her happiness' just like everyone else in the Charming family had ever done, everyone expected this one to be epically more so. No one, except for the Merry Men that is, even knew if Robin had told Marian that he'd… been unfaithful.

"Regina, Emma," the thief greeted the both of them as he and Marian came up. They were holding hands and Marian was smiling like she'd won the Enchanted Forest Lottery.

_Apparently he hasn't told her yet. Coward._

Regina shot Emma a sharp look, but in seeing no one else around her reacting, she put on her best 'hide-so-they-don't-hurt-you' smile and returned the greeting, "Robin. Marian. Hello. How have you been?"

"Making the adjustment to the future, OK?" Emma offered to the woman she'd saved.

"I am, thank you again, Emma," the dark-hued Lady offered her appreciation. Then she shot a nervous glance at Regina, and did a half-curtsey before saying, "Y-your Majesty."

Regina barely managed to bite back a long-suffering sigh at the behavior. Although she'd been avoiding her once-predicted-True-Love for quite some time now, and likewise been avoiding Marian, so they hadn't had much interaction in the first place.

"You can just call me, Regina, dear," she said as gently and kindly as possible. Probably not as gentle and kind as any among the Charming clan, but it did seem to do the job as the woman calmed down quite a bit. "Robin, how have you been?"

_Oh, subtle._

Regina shot another look at Emma out of the corner of her eye, but the blond was remaining tight-lipped. Her blue eyes were sparkling though.

"I… we've been… well," he answered, somewhat uncomfortable. Then he glanced down. "Henry, my lad, why don't you go and show my Roland how to win at that dreadfully loud contraption everyone keeps calling a… pin ball machine?"

The fifteen, nearly-sixteen year old boy looked back and forth between Regina and the collection of young children that had gathered around Granny's pinball machine. She didn't need to be asked out loud it would seem, as she smiled lovingly at her son, squeezed the hand that he was still holding and kissed him on the side of the head. "Go, have fun."

_Aw. Now I'm stuck with the boring adults. There goes my sole source of good conversation for the evening._

Regina had turned back just in time to see that at no point had Emma even opened her mouth to say a word, and yet the reformed Evil Queen had heard her voice speaking clearly. The brunette's eyes went wide, but fortunately she managed to contain her reaction to just that.

"So, things are going well, and Marian is quickly catching up on things," Regina commented, doing her best to act like nothing strange was going on, when it clearly was. "And Roland is doing good, I see. That's good."

"Yep, real good," Emma said aloud.

"Can we just stop pretending, please?" Marian said.

_Really? Now she speaks up? She's a mouse! I don't know what he sees in her._

Emma's eyes went wide and she looked right at Regina and did not look away.

"Please, I'm not stopping you," Regina replied to Marian's plea.

"Robin thought I was dead," she said. "For years in fact. He told me about you. About how he grieved and recently how he found hope for love again, for himself and Roland. That you… that you stepped away and allowed me time to get to know my family again, it says a great deal about you Regina. I just… I wanted to say… thank you."

_Huh, so not that much of a coward then._

_She's still a mouse though._

"It is no trouble at all, my dear," Regina said aloud, though she and Emma had shot each other raised eyebrow looks. It would appear that their bond was evolving yet again.

"I've had… quite a bit going on in my life recently," she further admitted. "But I do understand what it can be like. If… if someone that I cared about as deeply as you and Robin care about one another was returned to me after so many years… well, I don't need to explain it to you, I'm sure."

"Speaking of which, I think now is as good a time as any," Emma interjected, seeing or rather feeling what this was doing to her wife. And the night had only just begun.

"You cannot be serious," she said aloud, while 'silently' reprimanding, '_Tell me you're not serious. Now? Here? __Now__?_'

'_You are ready to bolt and all we've done is fend off my ex-stalker and exchange a few pleasantries with your ex-boyfriend! So, yeah, here and now. If we're going to take off, might as well be for an actual reason instead of just you hating parties._' Emma 'replied' just as silently.

Regina bit back a growl, let it go as a sharp sigh, closing her eyes as she mentally braced herself for what was to come. "Very well then. This is your idea though, so you get the honors, _Miss Swan._" She'd hissed the last two words, fully intending that they drive her wife to utter distraction, so to speak.

Then she turned to address the whole room. And right on queue it would seem, as David and Snow with little Prince Neal had literally just walked in the door.

"Everyone, may we have your attention please," Regina called for order. Though she was no longer the *_Evil_* Queen, she was still an experience queen and knew how to bring a room to order with just a few words or actions. Fortunately, words were enough this time.

"Thank you. We… Emma…" she heaved a huge sigh, looking as though she were getting ready to face off against her Mother or her Sister or any number of her foes from the past all over again. "We, have an announcement to make. Emma, your show."

"Thanks," her wife said with only a little sarcasm. Like a four on the scale of ten.

"OK, everybody, I'm sure, has been hearing about the… issues, Regina and I have been dealing with of late," Everyone turned a baleful eye toward Grumpy, who just took another long pull from his drink. "Turns out that Gold had it right, in that it was a bond formed of Light magic. Glinda recently arrived in Storybrooke and we went and talked to her today. She explained to us exactly what this bond is and why all these things have been happening to us. Also, we found out that there is no reversing this. It is a full time commitment and apparently it was meant to be a reward of some sort, for the two most powerful Light magic users of the land."

"So?" Snow asked, eager to find out what was going on with her daughter after all of this build-up. "What is it? What kind of magic bond is it, that transports you to each others bed and influences you to be together all the time like it has?"

Emma looked to Regina. Regina looked back. The blue-eyed blond held out her hand. The brown-eyed brunette eyed it distastefully. '_Come on, please?_' the Savior asked of her Reformed Queen.

Sighing and rolling her eyes, Regina placed her hand in Emma's and they interlocked their fingers. Then, a sudden urge filled them both and at the same time they announced together, "We're married."

_To Be Continued…_

(AN: Whew! It's almost over! Just the 'extra' day left. I've got some ideas for that, but... well, we'll see how things turn out. As for this story, I watched that final scene. Yeah, Regina was pissed, but everything she said was valid and not blown out of proportion, and while it is subtle, you can see a bit of the guilt in Emma's eyes, mostly when her eyes are downcast and it looks like she's thinking things over or something. Personally, this gives me hope that there might still be a few SQ-shippers amongst the writers on OUAT. Besides, Hook is the proverbial 'bad boy'. Emma might date him for a while, but I seriously doubt as to whether they even _could_ end up together. And from a twisted kind of sense, Emma could have brought Marian from the past because she was jealous of Robin and did it to get him out of the way so she could have Regina for herself and Henry. It's a theory.

OK, of the Challenges that I answered this past Week, the ones that I will be continuing (exactly how long, can't say at this point) are Monday's "Beards", Tuesday's "Who Do You Think You Are?", and Friday's "Two Women and a Little Liar". Oh, and this one of course. Will update as updates become available. Thank you and Enjoy!)


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